All eyes on Jeffries as Democrats weigh Biden’s future

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has found himself at the center of the storm as Democrats weigh the wisdom of keeping President Biden at the top of the ticket following his disastrous debate performance in Atlanta last month. 

The Democratic leader is being squeezed between two powerful but opposing forces. On one side is the predilection to rally behind his White House ally for the sake of party unity. On the other is the growing panic within his caucus that the president would be a drag on Democrats up and down the ballot, sinking the party’s chances of flipping control of the House in this year’s elections. 

Only five House Democrats have come out publicly so far to urge Biden to bow out and make room for another candidate to challenge former President Trump, the GOP’s presumptive nominee, in November. But that number is expected to grow in the days and weeks ahead — especially if polls continue to show that public confidence in Biden’s capacity to hold the office is waning in the wake of the debate.

The converging dynamics are thrusting Jeffries into a high-stakes decision, with all eyes in the House Democratic Caucus — and at the White House — waiting to see how the leader traverses the tricky path ahead.

“Hakeem is very thoughtful and very deliberate,” ...